An adult peregrine falcon sits in the nesting box in downtown South Bend on Monday, with four newly hatched chicks protected under the parent's wings, in this photo taken from the live falcon camera website. Tribune photo
On the web
Watch the falcon nesting box via the live camera at this website: goo.gl/NEFYWV
SOUTH BEND — The city's peregrine falcon population has grown by four.
The four chicks (technically called eyasses) hatched between Friday and Sunday in the nesting box atop the County-City Building.
As of Monday afternoon, the two parent birds were busy making flights to and from the nesting box to feed the chicks. At least one parent bird is generally in the nesting box at all times.
"They look really good. They're perky," local raptor rehabilitator Carole Riewe said Monday by phone.
The two adult birds are believed to be the same pair who were in South Bend last year: a female named Maltese and a male named Peace.
Volunteers haven't yet been able to get close enough to check the bands on the birds to confirm they are the same pair, Riewe said.
Last year, Maltese and Peace hatched four chicks, which were examined and banded in late June.
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